Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor, meanwhile, said South Africa's ambassador has returned to Israel, weeks after he was withdrawn by his government over a raid by Israeli navy commandos on a Gaza-bound flotilla in which nine activists were killed.

The raid unleashed a wave of international criticism against Israel, particularly for its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Palmor said the South African envoy returned Monday.

In a separate development, the Israeli military has submitted a new report to the United Nations on its three-week offensive in Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009.

It said it would take greater precautions to avoid civilian casualties, but reiterated that it considered the offensive a necessary and proportionate response to years of Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli towns.

Some 1,400 Gazans were killed in the war, including hundreds of civilians. Thirteen Israelis were also killed.

UN investigators wrote in a report last year that they found evidence that both sides committed war crimes.

Hamas was cited for indiscriminate rocket fire on Israeli civilians, while Israel was accused of using disproportionate force and intentionally harming civilians.